Plan for markers on abandoned cars on back-burner

No plan is in place yet to flag empty cars that have ended up in the ditch during a snowstorm.

The idea has been talked about informally for a few years because emergency crews often receive several calls about the same car in the ditch or median, especially on 100-series highways when passing drivers phone 911 without stopping to see if anyone actually needs help.

They could be calling about an empty car that police or paramedics have already dealt with.

One idea being looked at is flagging or somehow marking a car in the ditch that has already been attended to so anyone else coming upon the scene would know.

“Stickering vehicles is still on the list” of possible actions, said Stacey Brown of Emergency Health Services.

“However, our current focus remains on other priorities that directly impact and improve the emergency health-care system and patient care.”

These priorities include developing and implementing programs such as collaborative emergency centres and the extended-care paramedic program, Brown said.

In the meantime, she said, 911 operators and EHS dispatchers have a detailed process to follow when they receive a call about a car off the road.

Cpl. Scott McRae of Halifax RCMP agreed.

“Our dispatchers do a pretty good job realizing that we may be getting multiple calls on the same incident, but when in doubt, we have to go,” MacRae said.

He said police encourage people to stop, if it’s safe to do so, when a car is off the road, to see if anyone needs help.

He said if a passerby can’t stop, it’s important to give 911 an accurate description of the car and details of its location, citing distance markers on the 100-series highways if possible.